The choice to go under the knife is not much of a choice in Lebanon; it’s more like the norm. Not that I’m opposed to it. On the contrary! I’m a big supporter of plastic surgery done right. Actually I’m a fan of anything that makes a person feel good/better/more confident about themselves!
I was quite shocked today when I came across a recent photo of the one and only “Brigitte Bardot”. For those who don’t know, Brigitte is a French actress/temptress born on September 28, 1934. The only images of her in my head are those of a smoldering hot French blonde who’s risqué playfulness and sex appeal are enough to put Marylin Monroe to shame!

Here’s a little trip down memory lane with some of Brigitte Bardot’s most famous quotes …

“People are forever finding something wrong with you”

“I have to live with both my selves as best I may”

“I am all right when I work. I am not superficial and I am not ungrateful”

“A photograph can be an instant of life captured for eternity that will never cease looking back at you”

“I started out as a lousy actress and have remained one”

“If only every man who sees my films did not get the impression he can make love to me, I would be a lot happier”

“I never do anything by chance”

“They may call me a sinner, but I am at peace with myself”

"Men are beasts and even beasts don't behave as they do"

Stunning, isn’t she?
I was quite surprised to know that she chose NOT to go under the knife as she grew older. Her choice was to age gracefully. In her own words: “What could be more beautiful than a dear old lady growing wise with age? Every age can be enchanting, provided you live within it.”

Here is the more recent photo I came across of Brigitte Bardot. It’s from an event in Mexico for an organization fighting to save stray dogs from being euthanized. Not to forget, she is the most prominent animals right activist ever!

I think that she looks adorable for her age! After all, she IS 77 years old..
There’s something about her hairdo and the orange flower that reminisce her 1960s and 1970s golden years.

Do you think Brigitte Bardot took the right decision by abstaining from plastic surgery?

4 Responses to Aging “Gracefully”

I think she has done absolutely the RIGHT thing. Helen Mirren is another woman who is aging beautifully – I don’t know if she’s had much done, I don’t think so. Dame Judi Dench is exquisite!

So much pressure is placed on women in public professions to stay young or lose work, it’s awful, and so disrespectful. The women who succumb (sadly, I think, the majority) then create an artificial impression and expectation on younger women … and so the vicious cycle of feeling inadequate continues.

It’s funny, women ADORE ‘silverfoxes’ – those older men who let their hair go gray but still remain well groomed but ‘unworked’. Women LOVE this. Do men like this in women? Does the pressure also come from the men in our lives?

I don’t know. I’m 10 years older than my husband, and he still adores me (I think!) I do still colour my hair, but I wish I didn’t feel that I had to. I don’t do it because of my husband, but because of my workplace and career. Perhaps wandering in with a glorious head of silverwhite hair would be quite OK, but somehow I fear I would be judged by it. So I don’t.

I think she did the right thing by not getting anything done! She would have looked like a freak show with plastic surgery at 77! Besides, she looks good for her age ( who cares how you look at 77 anyway?). So yeah, she did the right thing and she’s doing a great job helping animals all over the world which makes me love her even more 🙂 ( her association even helped Beta in Lebanon at one point)

The woman was so beautiful in her youth,,that she likely never needed plastic surgery (even when she aged)..and I really believe she would have made a mockery of herself by getting something done after being consider the most beautiful woman alive for decades! There is something to be said for aging gracefully..when you get plastic surgery past 50, I think you are just making a fool of yourself..unless, like you said Fady..it goes relatively unnoticed and makes the person feel better.

I think Lebanese women undergoing plastic surgery (when they don’t really need it) have some psychological issues, such as low self esteem, attention seeking or the inability to handle the pressure posed by society.
A plastic surgeon, having the same woman knock on his door for liposuction, breast implants,nose job and face lifting should sit with her and just ask her wth is wrong with you? Sadly, most of them just succumb to the demands.
I don’t exclude the option of erasing my first wrinkles in my thirties, but doing that many operations is just grotesque.
I really admire Brigitte Bardot for choosing to “age gracefully”. I hope her example will influence Lebanese girls.